heroatheartfandomcom-20200214-history
The Quantum Key setting
The Quantum Key is the single most powerful device in the history of histories, and in any dimension. It is a simple brass key, about four inches long, looking very much like an old-fashioned skeleton key. It has extremely small writing down the side which, as it turns out, are inscriptions of an incantation in a forgotten language to allow the opening of all of time and space, although the exact meaning of the words has been lost. It's primary use is granting access and control of the Singularity, a powerful ship capable of traveling through time and dimensions. When the Key is inserted into any physical object, it opens up a door exactly big enough to fit the wielder of the key (also known as the Keymaster) through comfortably, although the Keymaster can invite others in. If the surface is not large enough, the Key generates a door only as big as will fit perfectly on the surface, and if the target is a living life form, the target will bend into space at an angle unknown to occupants of our dimension (it is not known what becomes of them), and the door will free-stand in open space. This door closes immediately after the Keymaster goes through, but will remain open until that time for any others who wish to pass. The key can freely be removed at any time, and most people take it back immediately after opening the door. Upon entering the door, one will encounter the Event Horizon. The Event Horizon is a blank area of space which stretches on as far as the eye can see in all directions, and although there is a definite, solid floor and ceiling, it may look like it goes on infinitely in the up and down directions as well. The appearance of the open space can be programmed by the Keymaster, but upon first entry by a new Keymaster will look like the open void of space. Gravity will always be pulling in the same direction the Keymaster is moving upon entering the door, so if the Key is placed into the ground and one must move downward to enter it, gravity inside the Singularity will shift and the Keymaster will find his feet solidly on the floor upon entering the other side. Many Keymasters, upon entering the Event Horizon for the first time, will not know how to use the Singularity. A holographic artificial intelligence named Arthur, who appears in a form most comforting to the Keymaster (usually as a father figure or butler, although some Keymasters have been known to get favorite literary characters or even strange-looking creatures), will appear and explain the Singularity in simple although extremely (and sometimes unhelpfully) concise statements, usually allowing the Keymaster to ask questions but not giving him much information on what types of questions he should be asking. Because of this flaw in Arthur's programming, many Keymasters do not reveal the full potential of the Singularity for a very long time, if ever. Operation The singularity is relatively easy to use, if one knows what they are doing. It runs entirely on voice commands, and the equipment needed by the Keymaster to operate it (such as displays, gauges, monitors, or even manual controls) only appear, materializing out of nowhere, when needed or asked for. Arthur will guide new Keymasters through this process, although as has already been mentioned he is very slow to understand when advice needs to be offered, more frequently relying on the Keymaster to ask appropriate questions. The Singularity can monitor any time, location, or dimension to which it can travel, and since it can travel anywhere, it can monitor any time or place or dimension. The major difficulty involved is that the Keymaster needs to know the exact temporal, spatial, and dimensional coordinates of the time and place and dimension to which it is going. This usually involves a long and arduous process of scanning to get the coordinates exactly correct. This can take quite a while, and new Keymasters have found themselves playing with the Singularity (and arguing with Arthur) for hours before going anywhere. Luckily, the Singularity stores past data, so it can effortlessly travel to places and times and dimensions to which it has already traveled before. The transfer from one place to another almost always takes exactly five minutes. At this time, the Keymaster can ask for the door to open. It will open out onto whichever surface is large enough to accommodate the door closest to the initial coordinates. Internal Structure The Singularity is an infinite area occupying its own time and dimension. It has been theorized that it actually occupies every single inch of every single second of all of time and space, and the time it takes it to "travel" is actually just the time it takes to calibrate the door to the right coordinates. One could conceivably walk forever in any given direction while inside the Singularity. However, even if one were to do so, they could still ask for Arthur, the door, or any of the other features of the Singularity and it would appear immediately at their location. This area can be made to have structure. The Keymaster can command that a room be made, and that room will be made physically inside the ship. From that point on, a door can be called upon which will enter that room. Each room is given a unique identifier upon creation which the crew of the Singularity can call upon to access the room. Some rooms which have been made in the past and are still on board the ship are the Swimming Pool (DT-33), the Armory (AM-64), the Museum (DP-190), and a physical bridge made to look like a starship with physical controls allowing the crew to control it like an ordinary vessel (BR-01). There are also bedrooms, libraries, training simulator rooms, crew lounges, and wardrobes which have been forgotten about entirely. The crew can generate rooms, but only the Keymaster has the power to delete them. If anything not belonging to the Singularity is inside a room upon deletion, that person is immediately ejected into the time and place the Singularity is currently attuned to. If the Singularity is in the middle of attuning to a new set of coordinates, there is no telling when and where the person could wind up. The Singularity can generate anything, actual physical copies of anything at any time in the multiverse. The only problem with this is that it cannot allow them to leave, and upon passing through the door with any object made aboard the Singularity, that object will immediately stop existing. Rules There are some rules on the Singularity, and the Keymaster can institute or deactivate new rules at any time (with the exception of the originals). These rules are as follows: *There is to be no violence aboard the Singularity. Any dangerous activity is permitted, but the Singularity itself will prevent any injury or death from coming of it. *The Singularity must be used to make the multiverse better. In terms of better for who, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Therefore, it is not permitted for the Keymaster to go back in time to save a loved one if that loved one's death being prevented will ultimately lead to the suffering of others. *Under no circumstances is the Keymaster to allow a Paradox to occur. *If the Keymaster breaks the second or third rule, the next time he exits the Singularity, the key will spontaneously disappear and be transported to another time, place, and dimension completely at random. *Certain events are fixed in time. This does not mean they are not able to be changed, but rather that changing them will always lead to equivalent exchange. If, for example, the Keymaster saves a person from dying, but the event was fixed in time, another person must die to take the place of the temporal void that would be caused. Category:Quantum Key Category:Campaign